Thousand
by SNOGIRL
Summary: I had seen a thousand faces, a thousand lifetimes, a thousand memories- None would be as deeply engraved as seeing Mako die and me being powerless to stop it.
1. Chapter 1

**Thousand**

**Hey guys, yes I know it's been forever and a day since I've done a Makorra fic. Miss me? Awwe, I know you did. ;D **

**This is just a quick little ficlette that has been niggling at the back of my beautifully creative brain for a while. Inspired by the last episode (or second to last?) of Avatar: The Last Airbender when Azula shoots Zuko full of lightening when he dives in front of Katara- Same principle except with chi blockers and Mako and Korra. Tada! I know, I'm a genius, but unfortunately for the both of us not enough so that they would hire me to write LoK.**

***sigh* Cue disclaimer: Never owned, never will.**

It was pouring. Thunder was crashing, shaking the very earth. Or maybe that was Bolin. If he was still able to bend that is. Lightening flashed across the sky, mirroring the chi blockers swift strikes. The rain stung, so cold it almost burned. The freezing liquid seemed to burrow its way deep into my skin, and soon I couldn't tell if I was shaking from exhaustion or from the layer of ice that seemed to coat my bones.

A blinding flash of fire here, the sharp, disjointed notes of metal meeting metal there, and the constant torrents of rain made it nearly impossible to see. Only the pitter-patter of the rain on their light armor alerted me of their presence a second before it was too late. I was on my hands in knees, coughing out the smoke and water that made an unholy substance in my chest.

A sharp kick was delivered to my side, jolting me onto the concrete. That got the shit out of my lungs just fine; the dying embers of my energy flared again, fighting not to fizzle out. My arm became jelly, and I couldn't push myself up. The eerie glow from a chi blockers goggles and the crackle of electricity had me rolling to the side just as the stick was slammed in the exact place I had been a moment before.

I forced myself to my feet, stumbling just a bit as my arm hung limply at my side. The slight tingling in my fingertips let me know that it was there at all. There was a blow to my stomach, and I hunched over instinctively, eyes widening as I realized my mistake. Just as I was about to straighten, minute jabs ran parallel to each other on either side of my shoulder blades rendering me as weak as a baby spider-fly caught in its own web.

I took another step back, and my already sore back was met with brick. I shifted, and clenched my teeth to hold in a moan as the abrasive rock rubbed against my bruised and torn skin.

Another flash of lightening, this one lighting up a new scene: Mako calling out for me while Naga followed him silently, her tail tucked between her legs. Bolin and Chief Beifong were lying across the saddle, but neither was moving. I opened my mouth to answer, but instead of a yell it came out as a squeak as someone gripped my pony tail forcefully, nearly ripping it out of my scalp and shoving an electrical stick under my chin.

The chi blocker's eyes glowed hatefully under the goggles, a terrible smile breaking across their face. They jammed the electric stick into its holster, ripping off the leather helmet. Her usually shiny and smooth ebony waves were frizzy from being contained, her pale cheeks flushed with color and a wild look in her flashing green eyes. The phrase _green with envy_ ran through my mind.

"Asami?" I hated how my voice shook, how weak I sounded.

"Hello _Uh-vatar_" She adopted the degrading nickname from Tahno, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "You've been causing a lot of problems for Amon and me."

"What do you want Asami?" I ground out, baring my teeth.

She laughed manically, throwing her head back and jerked my hair once more with her dainty hands. "Equality- and get you away from my boyfriend." She sneered, and when I tried to protest, she snarled and slammed my head back against the crumbling rock. "I've seen the way you look at him."

"Asami," I breathed, eyes watering as I felt something warm that was definitely not rain soak into my hair and drip down onto my neck and shoulders. "Please- don't do this."

She shook her head slowly, her pearly white teeth glinting in the darkness. "You know what? I think after I have Amon take your bending away, I'll make you watch him take away Mako's. I always thought it was unfortunate that he was a bender. It's almost time to rectify that little genetic mishap though." She reached into the holster again for the weapon that would send me into blissful, unconscious oblivion.

"Korra!" Mako called out again hoarsely, struggling to be heard over the storm. Asami turned at the sound of his voice, and I saw my opening. I grit my teeth, thinking too late- _this is gonna hurt_ before I ripped my hair out of Asami's loosening grasp and dived onto the cracked concrete beneath out feet. My back screamed in pain, and a groan slipped out of my mouth as I rolled, staggering to my feet a few feet away from a vicious Asami.

I could barely make out her quivering frame despite the fact that we were standing right across from each other. Then suddenly, she went still. Another flash of lightening came and went, but it was enough. She was staring at my feet… which were immersed in one of the gushing rivers that over took the streets.

She let out a barking laugh, not at all like the tinkling giggles she let slip out when she was clutching Mako's arm at some joke he told. She gripped both handles of the sticks in her hands tightly, and rushed forward, skidding on padded knees to rest in front of me.

_Too late. _The words flashed on my eyelids as lightening lit up the world that was temporarily closed off from me. _Too late for everything. Too late to master Air bending. Too late to win the tournament. Too late to stop Amon. Too late to save Republic City. Too late to save what could have been with Mako._

In that single second, I closed my eyes, flinging my arms back, palms open and back arched, welcoming the dousing rain for what would probably be the memory I would have left of this life. Asami screeched victoriously, and I saw her in my mind's eye, about to slam both sticks down on the slick pavement.

I was jarred out of my stupor as a strong arm snagged around my waist, flinging me out of the rapid water. My eyes flew open just before I landed on something soft and very much alive. Mako let out a blood curdling, spine chilling scream, seeming terribly and horrifically beautiful as the volts ravaged his body.

Naga held onto my parka tightly as I lunged forward, holding me back. "No," I breathed, struggling weakly against her brute strength. "No," I was louder now, eyes filling with tears, shouting against the wailing winds. "_NO!_"

Asami looked at my sharply, narrowed eyes widening beneath sickly green goggles. She looked back to Mako, still writhing under the continuous torture. She pulled back, panting but still grinning wolfishly at his smoking form.

"Naga." I growled, the sound filling my whole being, making me even more shaky then I was. "Off." She immediately let go, whimpering as I sprinted towards the pair.

I gently turned Mako over, and he twitched as lingering electricity spider webbed over his clothes before he went still. I gasped, shaking my head as his broad chest shuddered one last time. I brought my head down to it, not caring if I burnt my hair. I didn't hear the steady _thump, thump_ that had lulled me to sleep when we were in the park, looking for Bolin, or the whooshing of air in his lungs as I delivered a particularly powerful attack during training. There was nothing except for the deafening thunder and the sound of my own heart breaking.

I clutched his cold face in my hands, leaning over him, rocking back and forth as I called his name. It became my mantra. "Mako, Mako, Mako. Please wake up. Please." Again and again and again. I dropped my forehead onto his, body shaking with sobs against his limp one.

I hadn't noticed that Asami had risen to her feet, towering over us. No, not us. Just me.

"He got what he deserved. And now it's time you did too." Something inside me hardened, willing me to stand even as my legs shook from grief and exhaustion.

"You're right." I said faintly, like I was hearing it from a distance, from a memory. A thousand faces, a thousand lifetimes, a thousand memories- None would be as deeply engraved as seeing Mako die and me being powerless to stop it. "There will be consequences. But not for me. For you, Asami Sato."

I vaugely felt myself rise into the air, bending the currents to my will as everything began to glow in a white-blue light as all the cycles of Avatars before me rushed into the present.

_To be continued…_

**Um- Yeah. Okay, this was supposed to be a one shot, but because I love getting reviews, I'm going to split it into two chapters. You know what to do: Click the button! Ten people do this, and it'll be complete. So- reviews are loved, the people who write them even more so. And I mean this truly. **

**SNO.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thousand**

**Yes, finally a real chapter. No flames guys, please.**

**Disclaimer: Never owned, never will.**

_Previously in Thousand:_

_I vaguely felt myself rise into the air, bending the currents to my will as everything began to glow in a white-blue light as all the cycles of Avatars before me rushed into the present._

And then there was nothing. I saw my body surrounded by swirling elements, barely recognizable as it whirled, calmly creating chaos before I was yanked away by an unseen force. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing shallowly and trying not to panic. _It's time that you understood what can trigger you to go into the Avatar state_ a deep voice that almost sounded like Tenzin's said sagely before I came to a jarring halt.

I dared to open my eyes a crack, and stumbled back at the sight in front of me.

A twelve year old Aang fell onto his knees in front of a crazed looking man. "I don't see glowing!" He ranted, and a panicking Katara sank lower into the courtyard like she was caught in quicksand.

"I'm trying," Aang pleaded, voice cracking as he squeezed his eyes shut, tears gathering in the corners of them.

"Aang," Katara shouted, voice trembling. "I'm sinking!" Only her head was showing now.

"You don't need to do this," He looked like he would collapse if he hadn't been hanging onto the man's expensive robes.

"Apparently, I do." He said darkly, clenching his fist and making her disappear with a yelp just as Aang lunged toward her, hunching over the place she had been seconds ago.

Aang's back suddenly went ram rod straight, eyes and arrows glowing with an eerily familiar white blue light. His eyebrows lowered, his expression turning to one of fury. He began to rise on a column of air, swirling all around him as he bent up jagged pieces of earth, launching poor soldiers high into the air.

The man stared up in euphoria and awe. He cupped his hands around his mouth, struggling to be heard above the wailing winds. "Avatar Aang- can you hear me! Your friend is safe." Katara was spit out of the ground, panting and clutching her throat. She looked up with watering eyes, gasping and coughing. "It was a trick to get you into the Avatar state. _And it worked!_"

Meanwhile, Katara had slowly inched her way toward Aang, who was slowly descending from his towering pillar of air as she approached. As soon as he was hovering a few feet off the ground, she gently tugged him the rest of the way down, wrapping her arms around him as they fell to their knees, huddled together. They weathered the constant battering from violent gusts of air filled with gritty sand and tiny bits of clay.

The wind gentled, the huge pieces of earth finally settling among the crumbling ruins of the once beautiful courtyard. The glow finally left Aang's eyes, and he rested limply against Katara, who cradled his head to her shoulder, stroking it in an effort to comfort him.

The man came rushing up, looking like Meelo when he so much as had a granule of sugar: Wide eyed and bushy tailed. "That was perfect!" He shouted, waving his arms, smiling triumphantly. He brought one hand to stoke his beard, mumbling to himself. "Now all we need is a way to control you when you're like that."

"You're crazy," Aang stated plainly, still close to Katara. She clutched him to her, like if she let go he would be swept away by a gust of his own air.

I scoffed, marching so that I stood behind the man, and attempted to knock his stupid little top knot ornament right off of his head. I wasn't very successful seeing as I was invisible to all of them and my hand simply passed through it. An ostrich-horse behind me squawked, making me jump before the blunt end of a strangely familiar looking boom-a-rang did it for me.

I started as I heard a wry but stern voice behind me questioned, "Anyone got a problem with that?" The Earth Kingdom soldiers shook their heads frantically, wide eyes on the form of their fallen general while I on the other hand, only had eyes for his attacker.

A pubescent Sokka sat regally on the feathered creature. Well, a regally as a teenager could anyways. The couple finally looked up, being pulled out of their temporary sanctuary. Sokka nodded, tilting his head to the gates leading out onto a condensed path. Aang answered with a nod of his own before dropping his gaze to his trembling hands resting on the dusty stone.

Katara gazed at him worriedly, her blue eyes shining. Her piercing stare followed him even as he rose and followed Sokka out of the ruins.

The image wavered, like I was seeing it through a wall of water. The sensation of being pulled back was numbed as a voice spoke pleasantly but soothingly in my mind.

_ "As you can see by my past experience, the Avatar State can be triggered by not only you being in danger, but others very close to you, like my Katara." _The voice was tinged with nostalgia as it mentioned the wise water bending master._ "I am very proud of you Korra. Send everyone my love."_

I fell to the rain soaked streets once more, gasping just like Katara had all those years ago. My chest heaved as I struggled to breathe, my lungs working feebly despite my best efforts. I squinted through the downpour, looking for any sign of life. Asami was knocked out on the pavement, her dark waves fanning out behind her, but her smeared make up ruined the otherwise dramatic pose. She looked like a half-drowned, undernourished raccoon-bear.

I closed my eyes, resting my cheek on the cracked pavement, ignoring the sting of a cut on my cheek. I inhaled slowly, concentrating only on the earth beneath me, searching for any vibrations: Naga, Bolin, Beifong- anyone.

My eyebrows bunched together, trying to pick up something other than the rain hammering down on the pavement. I hands curled into fists, my mouth twisting downwards as desperation threatened to over whelm me. I had to know if they were okay, if Mako- I hiccupped, remembering. A choked sob escaped before I clapped a hand over my mouth, clawing at the pavement, trying to distract myself from the pain. I pounded my fists on the rough rock, my screams drowned out in the storm.

I lay there for what felt like hours as the wailing wind became my screams, the drenching rain my tears. I closed my eyes, tired, so, so very tired from the war that had barely begun. Shadows had begun to creep into the shadows of my vision, and I welcomed them, desperate to escape from the pain, if only for a little while.

My eyes flickered, sleep drawing me down, down, down. A flutter of a vibration- a whisper beneath the pounding of the rain- danced over my fingertips. I frowned lightly as it pulled me back into reality, in the middle of a street in the pouring rain. I squeezed my eyes shut again, trying to block out the roaring thunder and let sleep take me.

It came again, the weak irregular tapping of what sounded like the beating of a-

I gasped, scrambling across the slick road. Lightning blinded me and the thunder was deafening. I relied solely on the tiny thrumming that carried all my hope. My body ached as I dragged it, inch by inch, toward Mako.

After an eternity, my searching fingers finally felt the frayed edge of his scarf. I gripped the lapels of his jacket, hauling myself over him. My hands slipped over the planes of his face, searching for a flicker of life.

"Mako," I whispered, smoothing a hand over his hair. "Mako, please. Please don't be dead. I'll kill you if you are." I dropped my head onto his chest, ears straining to hear the steady _thump, thump, thump _of his heart.

"It's technically impossible," his voice was hoarse, broken, teasing. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. "to kill me if I'm already dead."

"_Mako_," I gasped, throwing my arms around him and burying my face in his neck. Shudders wracked my body, and I breathed in his comforting scent: smoke, sweat, hard soap, and musk.

"Can't- breathe." He gasped, and I rolled off of him, face burning in embarrassment.

He hesitantly shifted onto his side, his burning gold eyes the only light in the darkness besides the flashes of lightning. He brushed the side of my face with the back of his hand, gently moving my tangled hair out of my eyes.

"Korra," he murmured. I held his hand to my cheek, closing my eyes and humming my approval.

"Don't let me go." I whispered, once again hiding my face in the strong curve of his neck and shoulder.

He wrapped me in his arms, stroking my back. "Never." I shook as he said the word and he tightened his grip on me, not understanding my reaction. I knew, even a hundred lives from now, the memory of almost losing him would still stand. It would haunt them in the shadows of their subconscious, like it did to mine. I, they, _we_ would never forget.

…**Yeah, okay I know, I haven't updated like I should've, you don't have to be burning holes in your computer screen if you're staring hatefully at my profile page. Trust me, I am too. I've had major writer's block, and I'm still not sure about this ending. Kind of- creepy for my taste. Reviews are loved, the people who write them even more so. **

**SNO.**


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